Chemical and physical restraints were used before aged care home shut

The aged care royal commission has revealed "concerning" use of physical and chemical restraints at a Queensland retirement home weeks before it was closed unexpectedly.

The Gold Coast facility was shut suddenly on July 11 after a dispute between approved aged care provider People Care and HelpStreet, which was managing the Earle Haven Retirement Village, led to dozens of elderly residents being taken away by ambulances.

A contact report for People Care, dated June 25, states residents were prescribed "regular and as needed psychotropic medications".

"The service utilises chemical and physical restraint ... Both areas of the service are secure and care recipients can only exit using a keypad," the report, raised during the aged care royal commission on Thursday, states.

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It reveals 71 per cent of care recipients received psychotropic medication and 50 per cent were subjected to physical restraints.

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission quality assessment and monitoring executive director Ann Wunsch said she was concerned about the use of restraints at the retirement home.

Photos from the day Earle Haven was evacuated were tendered as exhibits at Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

"That [71 per cent] is at the very high end and I’ve seen examples where that percentage has been in reports for services that have predominantly consumers with mental health or other complex care needs but that’s a very high number," she said.

Ms Wunsch said the fact that half of the residents were subjected to physical restraints was also "very troubling".

"It's an unacceptable level," she said.

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Ms Wunsch said the assessment of the issue had not finished by the day the facility shut, but the next step would be to provide the report to the provider to seek their feedback.

Counsel assisting the royal commission Paul Bolster asked if the number of residents subjected to restraints would have been discovered earlier, had the "right questions" been asked in 2018.

But Ms Wunsch said the data referred to a point in time and it was unknown whether the same residents were living in the aged care home earlier.

Ms Wunsch said the "risk screening question" was dropped from reports in 2017 but after the commission was created in a restructure of previous agencies in February, the question was sharpened "so that we could see what a self-assessment percentage of restraint looked like".

She said extra resources had been provided to the sector.

"We expect that, with additional resources and attention, supported through also efforts of the industry associations, with policies, procedures and training, that we'll make a significant impression and impact in relation to this issue," she said.

The People Care report also shows four care recipients had suffered falls requiring medical attention and hospitalisation in the prior three months.

Earlier this week, it was revealed subcontractor HelpStreet demanded $3 million the day before Earle Haven was closed, leading to the evacuation of 68 frail and elderly residents.